In a telephone conversation on Friday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev called for efforts to carry out the agreement on a railroad project connecting Iran’s Rasht to the border city of Astara in Azerbaijan.
In the conversation, Rouhani also expressed Iran’s readiness to shares its experiences and promote cooperation with the Republic of Azerbaijan in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
He further stressed the need to maintain trade exchanges between the two Muslim neighbors in compliance with the health protocols.
Aliyev, for his part, hailed the positive trend in the bilateral relations with Iran, saying Baku and Tehran will certainly take steps in broadening ties in the coming months.
“The Rasht-Astara railroad project is highly significant for the Republic of Azerbaijan, and we will try to remove the obstacles and problems to complete the project immediately,” the Azeri leader added.
The budget for completion of Rasht-Astara railroad project is estimated at $1.1 billion, part of which has been supplied by the $500 million loan from Azeri banks.
When finished, the Rasht-Astara section will connect the rail networks of Iran and Azerbaijan through the border city of Astara.
The entire project constitutes part of the north-south corridor.
The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a multipurpose route for the transit of goods between Iran, Russia, Europe, India and Central Asia via shipping lines, railroad and land routes.